mortality rate
noun
plural mortality rates
: the ratio between deaths and individuals in a specified population and during a particular time period : the incidence of deaths in a given population during a defined time period (such as one year) that is typically expressed per 1000 or 100,000 individuals : death rate
an annual mortality rate of 15 deaths per 1000 people
Note: A crude mortality rate does not distinguish between specific causes of death or groups of individuals and measures the incidence of all deaths in a population during a given time period. More specific mortality rates are based on narrower categories of individuals or causes of death.
an infant mortality rate of 9 deaths per 1000 live births
mortality rates of lung cancer patients
infectious disease mortality rates
Examples of mortality rate in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
These complex, mental health conditions have among the highest mortality rates of any mental illness and often go unnoticed or underdiagnosed.
—
Lucy Notarantonio, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 July 2025
The paper also compared the mortality rates of U.S. children to kids in other high-income countries, finding that American children were around 1.8 times more likely to die than those in the other countries.
—Stephen Sorace, FOXNews.com, 8 July 2025
Thanks to a hand from USAID, our maternal mortality rate over a 23-year period was cut almost in half, from 209 per 100,000 live births in 1993 to 114 per 100,000 live births in 2015.
—Butch Meily, Fortune, 7 July 2025
In 2020, Indiana had a lung cancer rate of 72.5 per 100,000 people, with Lake County as one of the state’s counties with the highest cancer mortality rates, according to the American Lung Association.
—Maya Wilkins, Chicago Tribune, 27 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for mortality rate
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Lucy Notarantonio, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 July 2025
The paper also compared the mortality rates of U.S. children to kids in other high-income countries, finding that American children were around 1.8 times more likely to die than those in the other countries.
—Stephen Sorace, FOXNews.com, 8 July 2025
Thanks to a hand from USAID, our maternal mortality rate over a 23-year period was cut almost in half, from 209 per 100,000 live births in 1993 to 114 per 100,000 live births in 2015.
—Butch Meily, Fortune, 7 July 2025
In 2020, Indiana had a lung cancer rate of 72.5 per 100,000 people, with Lake County as one of the state’s counties with the highest cancer mortality rates, according to the American Lung Association.
—Maya Wilkins, Chicago Tribune, 27 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for mortality rate
Cite this Entry
“Mortality rate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mortality%20rate. Accessed 19 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share